So... let's put it this way: I've grown used to the idea that summer in Hong Kong is not complete without another Hello Kitty interactive game/exhibition coming to town. And as I (and many others) have discovered, this is the year of Hello Kitty in Oz!

In this version of Oz, Dorothy's no where to be seen -- and ditto re The Wizard of Oz. Instead, the head honcho of this land is The Great Witch of Oz -- who looks a lot like Hello Kitty in a purple coat (with yellow trim), black trousers and a white bow around her neck (and the trademark red bow near her left ear). And to show how integral to the place she is, each visitor to this fantastic looking -- but, alas, too small sized (smaller, it seems, than Kitty Lab or the Sanrio Robotics Institute) -- territory has to go around with their own The Great Witch of Oz figure in order to not be barred from many of its sections.

Fortunately, as I discovered, it is not necessary to successfully deal with every single challenge thrown at you in your quest to help The Great Witch of Oz save her world from coming to an end and restore the world order. This since I actually failed at carrying out five of my seven assigned tasks! (But, hey, I proved adept at wood chopping and ended on a high by passing the final test over at Emerald City!!)

Some might think it sour grapes on account of this being the Hello Kitty interactive game I fared the least well in but if truth be told, I don't feel that Hello Kitty in Oz was as fantastical or fun as Kitty Lab or Kitty Intelligence Beta. Its smaller size didn't help -- and I honestly do feel that one reason why I wasn't successful at many of the games was because those charged with explaining them weren't as good as their equivalents in earlier years.

On a more positive note, I fell in love with the large Hello Kitty scarecrow plush that one had to carry in one of the Hello Kitty in Oz games -- and there's a part of me that really rues that it's not available for sale. Also, I managed to snag myself a colorful Hello Kitty in Oz beach towel that I had eyed from the first time I had checked out the Hello Kitty in Oz official site. (And yes, I do foresee myself putting it to good use in the months ahead -- when it's prime beach weather again in Hong Kong!) :b